VIRGINIA — A Virginia business is sponsoring a rally Saturday to protest Illinois’ shelter-in-place order.

The rally — dubbed the Freedom Rally — will start at 4 p.m. Saturday on the south side of Cass County Courthouse in Virginia.

Patrick Bell, owner of Cass Meats, is organizing the event to send a message to Gov. J.B. Pritzker and local leaders that there are people in central Illinois who are tired of the lockdown order, which Bell considers draconian.

“We want our jobs and businesses back, we want our churches back, we want our lives back,” Bell said. “We are letting our voices be heard and demanding an end to this COVID-19 response from the governor that is worse than the disease.”

Attendees who wish to follow the state’s guidelines for social distancing and wearing masks in public spaces are free to do so during the rally, Bell said.

He is encouraging participants to bring signs and flags to the rally, but asked that protesters keep it clean to prevent being discounted as radicals.

Bell plans to address the rally crowd, and at least one other person also is scheduled to speak, he said.

Cass County has reported 50 cases of COVID-19 so far. Officials in nearby west-central Illinois counties have announced that they do not plan to enforce Pritzker’s executive order implementing social distancing and requiring that protective masks be worn in public spaces where social distancing is not an option. Both Scott County State’s Attorney Michael Hill and Pittsfield Police Chief Michael Starman have vowed not to enforce the order because of constitutional concerns over its legality.

On Tuesday, Pritzker unveiled a five-phase region-based plan to reopen the state’s economy. The plan has received criticism from mayors throughout the state and from Illinois Republicans for grouping smaller municipalities with larger cities and for not reopening downstate regions quickly enough.

After the rally, participants are invited to attend a cookout in the Cass Meats parking lot that is intended to show appreciation for Cass Meats customers.